Trouble
by Elizabeth Anne Summers
Summary: A few years post NFA, a slayer in Atlanta raids a whorehouse and find a past acquaintance. A vampire she remembered meeting when she was a young potential back in Sunnydale. He sticks around to help out of gratitude for saving him and starts to get close
1. Chapter 1

**_Trouble_**

**Chapter One**

**AN: A nice birthday present for Thianna, an awesome writer and an awesome person. Non-Spuffy! Oh no! Hopefully that won't scare all of you off.**

The city was busy as usual, only slightly slowing at the late hour. Like most big cities, Atlanta did not sleep much – if at all. That pretty much suited the slayer, though, as other slayers had to sit in graveyards at night boredly waiting for fledges to rise if they were stationed in small towns. Instead, Marie walked along the streets and stopped at the convenience store on the corner to get herself a peach smoothie.

Tonight, she passed on the sweet treat as she actually had a particular place to be instead of just patrolling aimlessly. She had gotten info that there was a small vampire bordello near Underground that she was on her way to go break up. These places just kept popping up because people just kept on paying to get themselves sucked on by the gross creatures. Or other things... Not to mention, other demons and vampires paid for the pleasure they could find there. So raiding places like this didn't just help protect humans from their own stupidity, but also gave her a chance to take out some of the demonic clientele while they were preoccupied.

Before going in, Marie paused in the alley beside the building to check the daggers in her combat books and the stakes in the pouch on her belt. She hitched up her leather pants, the small girl always having such a problem with keeping her pants up even with the belt. That and her bra straps, which were the next to get tugged back up under the black tank. With that, she hurried for the front door before they started to sense her presence.

She strode in the front door, staking the vampire bouncer before he had a chance to ask her what she was doing there. She flipped her black streaked blonde locks and headed for the stairs, already having a plan in mind to go from room to room dusting them stealthily. This was not the first time she had to put one of these things out of business, obviously.

Like before, she made it halfway through the rooms before the others became alerted to what was going on. So now she was fighting her way through a crowd of vampires, there having only been a couple demons there that night and she had already got rid of them.

Kicks and punches were flying through the air. She flipped out of the way of one angry vampire to dust the one behind him, and then spun to stake the first. It went on until they were all gone and she continued checking the rooms for others that she hadn't gotten rid of yet. There was one half-conscious vampire that she put out of its misery before continuing. She nearly skipped the last room, but went in and paused at the sight there.

Chained to the bed was another vampire that was on its way out. But, this one was male and apparently had gotten special treatment from the owners of the whorehouse as besides all the cuts and bruises he was dressed in what normally a **_female_** whore would wear. Fishnets, leather corset, choker with rings on it for the chains, dark nail polish and the side of the face that she could see was made up. The hair was long and shades darker than her own; it had used to be bleached by the colour of the tips. Besides all of that, she sensed something different about this vampire as she stepped further into the room.

Kneeling on the bed, she started undoing his bonds. He was too weak to fight back so it did not worry her. Her sympathetic blue gaze roamed over him and her hand brushed the hair back to she could study his face. It did look familiar, but she still wasn't sure.

A groan and then the blue eyes blinked open, not quite fixing on her.

"Well, this is new," he finally got out hoarsely and by the sounds of his voice she could tell his throat was raw. It made her shudder to think how it had gotten that way. "A slayer comin' t' get her jollies from the Big Bad."

"Big Bad?" Her brows drew together as her memory tried to jog itself as the feeling that title brought. Her own accent rolled off her tongue, "And for your information, sugah, Ah came to save your undead ass."

She wasn't completely sure why she wasn't dusting him like she had the other half-gone whores. He was different and she could sense it. He must have been wondering the same thing judging by the look he was giving her as she helped him off the bed. She ignored it and just got him down the stairs as quick as she could, needing to get them out of there before possibly more vampires or demons showed up.

She got the vampire back to her apartment, worried about what her watcher was going to say about this. Her watcher wasn't much older than her and very nice, but she was still a watcher and bringing home a vampire was still something that was probably going to get her some evil looks.

In fact, it did the moment Marie came in the door. Gilda looked up from the books she was reading in the sitting area and narrowed her eyes at the pair, not missing the way that Marie had to invite the guy in before she could lead him inside. Then a blush started to creep over her cheeks as she noticed the condition of the man.

"What is this all about?" she stood and walked over to them. She tried to make out the face on the man, but couldn't through the curtain of hair that hung in her way. It looked matted with disgusting things so touching it was way out of the question.

"Mission accomplished; the place is outta business," was all Marie said as she settled the guy on the couch.

"With the exception of the souvenir you brought home?" Gilda quipped as she watched them with arms crossed.

"Hey! Ah saved him, not so Ah could use him for myself," Marie frowned at her watcher. "If you don't wanna help me with him, then just go sit and spin."

"I like this bird," the vampire finally spoke up again, giving a coughing chuckle. "An' really, I don' want t' cause any trouble. Just point me on my way."

"Oh no, this is my apartment and Ah get to chose who Ah nurse back to health," Marie pushed him back down. "Now, wanna tell me who you are and how a big strappin' guy like you came to be dressed like a whore?"

"Name's Spike," he began and lifted a brow when her eyes got wide. "What?"

"Ah knew you looked familiar!" she said excitedly and smiled at him, "Ah was one of the potentials that got there just before the big battle in Sunnydale. I was young then, so that's why the memory was a bit fuzzy. Gilda, this is Spike. See, Ah knew he was different. He's one of the ones that's got a soul."

"That still leaves how the infamous William the Bloody came to find himself in drag in a whorehouse," the watcher paced to the side, avoiding looking at the half-naked vampire.

"Got myself knocked around pretty good in the next big battle that came in LA," he glanced at the woman warily. "Afterwards, wasn' able t' defend myself when some of those assholes snatched me up. Been going from place t' place as they moved about ever since."

"Anyone you want me to call to tell them that you're safe?" Marie asked.

He shook his head tiredly.

"Okay... well, you need blood and we don't got any right now, but we can get some tomorrow," the slayer dropped to kneel in front of Spike and tilted her head to the side, tossing her hair back. "Ah heard slayer blood is real good."

"Really shouldn', luv," he said, but his eyes were latched onto her pulse.

"Just do it so you can heal, sheesh," she inched closer. "Ah'm not gonna put up with a whiny vampire hangin' around. Been wearin' woman's panties too long, haven't you."

He growled and instantly his fangs were in her neck, making her jerk in surprise. She relaxed, reassured that he wouldn't kill her. He tugged her body close, not having had anything fresh to drink in so long, let alone slayer blood. When he was finished, he laid her back against the pillows and looked up at Gilda through the curtain of hair.

"I didn' take much, but I guess she was tired," he told her, worried she would think the worst. Being a watcher and all. Even when he was soulless he wouldn't have repaid such kindness like that, well... unless Drusilla asked him to, probably.

"She's anemic, so she gets lightheaded even getting her period," Gilda explained, endeared a bit to see he was actually concerned for her charge. "Are you going to stay? I mean, you said you had no one to call and it would be nice repayment for saving your life. Not to mention, you could be a big help to her."

"Just like a watcher t' try t' broker a deal on their slayer's behalf," he gave a weak smile, brushing the hair back again.

"It is our job, isn't it?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, you would probably like a shower, so follow me down the hall and I'll see if either of us have a big enough robe for you," she started for the hallway before seeing if he could follow. "As you can see, we're both tiny girls and doubtfully will have anything for you. But tomorrow, Marie can go out to get some stuff for you to wear."

"Thank you. Do you... have some scissors?" he touched the long mess of hair, remembering how the owners kept it long to go with the womanly embarrassments they forced on him to break him.

Gilda nodded silently and went to get that along with the robe. She found one long enough in Marie's room, secretly pleased at the blue colour that would match his eyes. Oh, when did she start getting all googly-eyed at vampires? Even if he did have a soul.

Some time later, Spike walked back into the sitting room wearing the robe. His wounds were starting to heal thanks to the blood and he was feeling more like his old self already. He had trimmed his hair slightly above his chin and as it would dry he knew it would get a bit curly and appear shorter, a bit longer than he wore it as a human.

"I'll stay for awhile," he told her with a nod then bent to lift Marie into his arms so he could carry the petite slayer to her bedroom. "I have nowhere else t' go, yeah, an' it would only be right after what you guys are doin' for me."

Gilda smiled, pleased, "Thank you. You can take my room and I'll take the couch."

"Wouldn' be gentlemanly of me t' take a bird's bed from her."

They stood there looking at each other stubbornly before Gilda sighed. "Okay, whatever."

Spike nodded and went to tuck Marie into her bed, kneeling to remove her boots along with the daggers inside then the belt that held her other slaying gear. He glanced up at the angelic sleeping face, noting the way the petite blonde slayer reminded him of another petite blonde slayer. But, she had his hard, punk edge. Maybe if he and Buffy had been lucky enough to have a child. He shook the troubling thoughts away and got up. No need to think of such things. That time had long past.

He headed back to the living room, only to find the watcher girl curled up on the couch sleeping. Sneaky bint. He chuckled and lifted her as well to carry her back to her bedroom. No watcher was going to one up him, no matter how cute she was. He tucked her into bed and brushed a hand over her hair before turning away, needing to go get some sleep before doing some thinking. It had been a crazy night.

Marie set down her soda and glanced over at the vampire who wasn't even paying attention to the TV. He was glancing off into the distance, obviously lost in thought with his bottom lip poked out in the sexiest pout ever. Well, this wouldn't do. Brooding was just icky and him brooding right there was just wrong. She didn't save him so he could brood.

"Yo," she called out to get his attention, deciding to draw him out of his troubling thoughts, "Is Madame Spike gonna come out with me tonight to do some patrollin'? Or do you need more time to brood?"

His eyes suddenly focused and shot to her with a glare. He barely refrained growling at her, "Bugger off."

"Only if you help," she grinned widely and wiggled her brows at him.

He stared at her dumbfounded for a moment before looking away. "Bloody irritatin' bint..."

He didn't want to chuckle at her antics, knowing it would egg her on like a child. He wondered if this was the way he had acted with the others and why they had always found him so irritating. Nah... He was just cute. He laughed mentally, glancing at the young slayer out of the corner of his eye. She was adorable, too, but with a hidden edge. He still had the troublesome thought of her being what he imagined a child of him and Buffy being like. She was also a mix of both Buffy and Faith in a way.

"I'll come with you patrollin', like I told your watcher. But only if you never insult me with this broodin' business again."

"Fine, but no more poutin' like a baby around me."

He growled at her and she just grinned impishly at him, going back to watching TV. He sighed and got up, heading into the kitchen where Gilda was cleaning the last of the dishes from dinner. She looked up when he entered and offered a small smile, setting the bowl she was cleaning down.

"Would you like some blood?" she started towards the fridge, glancing away from him shyly.

"No, luv, thank you," he leaned against the counter then nodded towards the living room. "How do you put up with that bird?"

She looked back at him questioningly, and then glanced towards the door. "Oh, Marie, well... she's really not as bad as she seems, I guess. She's a really nice girl with a weird sense of humour."

"If that's what you want t' call it," he snorted.

"Spike," she narrowed her eyes and put her hand on her hip, "She saved your life; I think you can handle a little bit of teasing. C'mon, you've had to have grown thicker skin in nearly two hundred years."

Spike sauntered over to the petite watcher and looked down at her. "You two bloody chits keep sayin' that as if it means I should be your wee little puppet. My gratitude only goes so far, an' soon you'll both use it up. Then see what happens when she says somethin' out of turn t' me."

"She's my slayer and if you so much as look at her the wrong way..." she let the threat hang there. "I asked you to stay and help, but if you don't like it here then you know where the door is."

With that, she turned away from him and went back to the dishes, scrubbing furiously on a pot. It was good she didn't have the strength of the other two or she might have put a hole through it. She jerked when a cool hand rested on her shoulder to get her attention and she slowly looked up.

"I'm a bad, rude man... an' a bit grumpy still from all that... well, don' need t' tell you about all that," he shook his head and dropped his hand. He took a step back, clearly uncomfortable after bringing up where he had been for the last few years. "Sure I'll be back t' my right sunny self after a bit more rest an' relaxation."

"We can only hope," she arched a brow up at him then ducked her head to hide the little smile as she rinsed the pot and set it aside.


	2. Chapter 2

**Trouble**

**Chapter Two**

Spike seemed to settle in to their routine. During the day, he slept as Marie did since they both stayed up at night patrolling, of course. Then he would get up and while Marie watched TV or read, he would help Gilda with whatever chores he could. The watcher was getting used to his presence, less uneasy about the vampire thing. Neither would be able to admit it, but Marie saw they did eye footsy now and then. Marie wouldn't say anything, though, since she herself had the hots for the sexy vampire.

By now, Spike had gotten a bit used to Marie's teasing and her flirting. He tried to make it clear he wasn't interested, but she didn't seem to care much. He wondered if she actually thought she had a chance with him if she flirted enough, or if it was a part of her usual teasing. Maybe it was time to show her that he had his sights set on someone else, in case she did want to start something.

He went to the study where Gilda was curled up in a chair reading a large and dusty book. What else did he expect a watcher to be doing with her free time? He gave a silent chuckle as he watched her from the doorway for a moment. She was pretty in an exotic way, what with her Asian features. She might not be a slayer or vampire like his past involvements, but she had her own inner strength. The way she had stood up to him when he first got here, most watchers he knew were spineless jellyfish. It also showed how caring she was that she had stood up for Marie and the way she had taken care of him since he got there.

They both had. Not many people had cared for him in his long life. Maybe that's because for a good part of it he was an evil bastard, but when he did his best to be a good man he was still treated badly. If it hadn't been more fun fighting for the good guys, he probably would have given up on trying to gain their trust and good will.

"Are you going to stand there gawking at me all day?"

He jerked out his thoughts and saw her looking up at him with brow raised. He blushed and shuffled his feet for a moment, embarrassed at being caught staring like some creepy pervert. After a moment, he regained his composure and walked the rest of the way into the room, closing the door behind him.

"I'm sorry, pet, I was thinkin'," he told her and dropped into the chair facing her.

"Oh, is that what they call it?" she grinned impishly.

"Ha bloody ha..."

"Well, you came looking for me for a reason. Did you need something? Has Marie become unbearable again?" She marked her page and closed the book, setting it aside before looking back towards him. She motioned towards the book, "I don't suppose you know Greek, do you?"

"Nope, sorry. An' just came t' talk t' you. Marie's out there watchin' some annoyin' foreign cartoon with subtitles..." he thumbed over his shoulder. "You're much better company anyway."

"You're so full of it," she blushed faintly and shook her head.

"I was thinkin'..." he looked down at his hands, trying to keep from looking like a right nervous ponce. "Tonight, instead of goin' out on patrol... I'd like t' take you out t' dinner." He swallowed and rushed the next bit, "Ifyouwanttoyouknow."

Her eyes widened for a moment in shock, that being the last thing she had expected him to say. Then next, she glanced away and her blush deepened. "Uh, sure, if you want to, then I would like that."

He grinned widely, so glad that she had accepted that he nearly smothered her in a hug. But it wouldn't do to scare her off before the actual date. Now he just had to go get ready and fend off Marie when she came looking for him to go patrol. He hoped that between his two theories on her flirting, that it was just part of her teasing so this wouldn't be a problem.

"Well, I'm goin' off t' get ready an' you should do the same, knowin' how you birds take forever t' make yourselves up," he smirked and stood, sauntering towards the door.

He grabbed his duster on his way to the front door, having to go out to make good with his plans for a nice night with the watcher girl. He was opening the door when Marie came out of the living room and spotted him.

"We goin' out on patrol already?" She stuffed her hands in her pockets and started towards him. "It's barely dark."

"No, luv," he shifted on his feet, "I, uh, got plans t' go out. With Gilda."

Her brows rose and she glanced towards the hallway then back at him. "Woah, okay. Well have fun then an' don' stay out all night, ya here?" She grinned and patted his arm before turning to head into the kitchen, calling from out of sight, "An' don' forget protection!"

If it was possible, Spike blushed as he hurried out the door.

There weren't any lights on when they returned to the apartment and Spike flicked one on as he led Gilda inside with his arm around her waist. Even without reaching out with his senses he knew that Marie wasn't back from patrol yet. He glanced at the clock and thought it was a bit late, but then maybe it was a busy night. He went to check for a note to see if maybe she had went out after patrol to find her own fun since they were gone.

Nothing.

He glanced at Gilda, "Is this normal for her t' be a little late?"

"A little," she nodded, "sometimes, but never really late without calling. We can give her another hour or two before worrying."

"Okay, pet," he gave a tight smile and followed her to the living room, settling down beside her on the couch to watch some old movie on television while they waited.

He tucked his arm around her shoulders and drew her to lean against him. This was nice and helped comfort the nervousness he was feeling over the missing slayer. The night had gone well enough, they had chatted shyly over dinner at an Italian place up the road that she had suggested and then he had spirited her away from some drinks. Once they had both relaxed a bit with some alcohol in them, he had pulled her out onto the dance floor. He had barely been able to get her off it hours later, her arms still clinging to him as he walked her to the car. But, he had to be responsible and make sure she got home at a suitable time so she could get some rest. He also had to check up on Marie, feeling protective of her even if he wasn't returning her flirtations.

Her eyes were drooping, but as the chimes sounded on the clock they flew open again. She looked at her watch then up at Spike, worry lines marring her forehead.

"She still isn't back," she said softly, "I think it's time to worry now."

"I'll go out an' look for her all I can before sunrise," he told her gently as he got up, "Of course you birds don' got her on a planned route for me to follow, can' make it easy for me, watcher, can you?"

He was smiling softly at her, no real hint of irritation there. He reached down to cup her cheek for a moment, "No problem, luv, I'll make due with the bloodhound scent trackin' us vampires got goin' for us. That's why I've got t' do it now even though the sun is nearly up, 'cause I'll have an easier time of it if the trail is fresh. An' it won' be the first time I've been out a bit longer than I should."

She was still looking at him with concern, but her worry over Marie's whereabouts overrode that and she nodded. "Just come back to me and hopefully with some good news."

"You know it," he gave her a cocky grin before heading out the door.

Gilda was pacing in front of the door when Spike slipped in with the first rays of the morning. He went to nurse his burnt hand under the cold tap water, glancing towards the watcher who was hovering closely as she waited for him to tell her what he found. If he found anything.

"Well?" she demanded softly.

"Found her trail an' it led me t' Centennial Olympic Park. She's got t' be in one of the buildings around there," he turned towards her and pulled her close, rubbing her back comfortingly. "That's a good thing. I know where t' go as soon as the sun goes back down, pet. I only came back 'cause I couldn' do much before the sun came up, an' as you saw I cut it close anyway."

"I'm going with you," she lifted her chin stubbornly. "She's my slayer and you're going to need all the help you can get, right? They're bound to be expecting someone to come to try to save her. They know she's a slayer and word has got to have spread that you've been seen running around with her."

"I really don' like the idea of you gettin' yourself in danger..." he sighed.

"Well, you're not my keeper, so I'm going whether you like it or not. So you might as well get over it."

"Fine, but I'm in charge of this little rescue mission. You take orders from me or I'll tie you t' your bed t' keep you safe," he pointed a finger under her nose while giving her a stern look.

"You think you look scary to me?" she snorted and walked around him towards her bedroom. "I'll see you tonight and don't even think of trying to sneak out without me. I guess you can sleep in Marie's bed tonight, unless you want to join me."

He froze, watching her retreating back as he let that invitation sink in. Did she just invite him to share her bed? She didn't say anything about doing anything beyond that and he wouldn't assume she was ready for that already, but still it was a big crumb in his book. No way was he going to question it or reject the offer. With a wide grin, he took off down the hall after her.

"So this is the place?" Gilda looked up at the building the next night, holding a blade a little over a foot long in one hand and a stake in the other, "You wouldn't guess that it was some sort of demon nest..."

"Yeah, pet," Spike looked down at her and chuckled in amusement before starting up the stairs to the front door. "Not sure if I'll need an invite, it might be public or not. Sometimes it's complicated."

"I understand and I'll go in first if you want, but then I know you don't want me to... so what, we wing it?" She arched a brow at him.

"Yup, I suppose so."

With that finally word on the matter, he started up towards the door with her trailing behind him. She was, in fact, nervous, but she just didn't like him thinking she was going to be some quaking female. There was a difference to her and so she lifted her chin as she followed behind him, determined to do her share of the damage. Besides, this was for Marie.

Spike was relieved that he didn't come up against a barrier after kicking the door in, waiting for the first wave of demons who would surely hear the crash. He tried his best to block Gilda as he fought off the demons that came as expected, trying to expose her to as little of the fight as he could. Gilda wasn't oblivious to the way he positioned himself between her and the demons while hogging all the action.

They disposed of the demons that came there way and started making their way through the building, using Spike's enhanced senses to track down where Marie was being kept. He could sense what the building was being used for and wasn't sure he should share with Gilda, but she would figure it out when they found Marie. He just hoped her treatment hadn't been too bad within only one day... Might as well soften the blow for the pretty watcher.

"Pet... there's somethin' I should tell you," he paused and looked back towards Gilda with tender eyes. "About what sort of place this is."

"When you say it like that you sort of worry me," her brows drew together.

"Considerin' what's goin' on, I can figure that she was kidnapped by the people that ran the whorehouse that she found me in. No doubt they were seriously pissed at what she did an' this has t' be their idea of payback. When we get t' her, you should let me go in first just in case she's in... well, just in case there's somethin' you shouldn' see."

Gilda swallowed, her eyes starting to fill with tears as she got what he was hinting at. For once, she just nodded and didn't argue with his order. He continued and she followed him after wiping at her eyes with renewed determination.

There were more demons and a handful of vampires on the way to the room Spike sensed Marie was in. He gave Gilda a reassuring look before turning towards the door to the room the slayer was in, sensing a vampire in there with her. He growled lowly at the gall of this wanker to keep up his rape while he knew that there was chaos going on around him. Perhaps he had a death wish.

Kicking that door in as well, he stepped into the room to find a male vamp with long black hair bending over Marie. The smell of his arousal and her blood was enough evidence for Spike as he charged forward snarling to rip the other vampire off her, tossing him into the wall.

"Are you okay, luv?" Spike asked the blonde, briefly taking his attention off the other guy.

"Get away from her!" the vampire roared, getting up to lunge towards Spike, "I'm taking her out of her and you'll dust trying to stop me!"

Spike held him at arm's length and shook his head. "What? You want t' take her out of here for what... a private session?"

The vamp slipped into game face before decking Spike. He stepped over him to get to Marie again, who looked just as confused as Spike. Her clothes from the night before were shredded, not really covering anything at all and showing off the cuts and bruises that littered her body. She was covered in blood and other fluids, her hair a tangled mess and her make-up smeared. Her wrists and ankles were chained to the bed and the new guy was making quick work of them.

"What the bloody hell?" Spike sat up and touched his broken nose, watching at he picked up Marie from the bed. "Who're you? We're supposed t' be the ones savin' the soddin' slayer!"

"Nikolai and can we get with the introductions after we get her to safety then?" Nikolai gave him a hard look while holding the tiny blonde protectively.

Both vampires were still confused about what had just happened, but both agreed they needed to get Marie to safety before sorting it all out. Back in the hallway, Gilda gasped at the sight of Marie and put her hand over her mouth as she took it all in, then glanced up at the stranger in confusion.

"What?" she blinked only to have Spike shake his head at her then pull her along back towards the door.

"Let's just get out of here before more of them come. The objective wasn' t' take them all out, just get Marie back safely," Spike told Gilda as they hurried towards the front door.

Spike knelt in front of Gilda, dabbing at a slash in her arm and trying not to give her a tongue lashing for getting her fool self cut up. Trying to take on a demon like that, what was she thinking? She was continuously rolling her eyes as he blew out air in exasperation to betray his annoyance.

It didn't help he was also tense knowing that the strange vampire was in Marie's room alone with her. As soon as he had bandaged Gilda's arm, he started to get up to hurry back there. A small hand stopped him, grabbing his wrist and tugging him back down next to her.

"You doted over me, now let me take care of your cuts," she took the rag from his hand and cupped his cheek with her other hand while wiping at a cut on his cheek.

"Vampire, luv, it'll be gone soon," he told her, but made no move to pull away.

"Why complain about me taking care of you, hmm?"

"Just worried, that's all. Want t' know what's up with this guy we found with Marie. Not sure we should be leavin' him with her alone for so long..."

"It'll be okay. I'm sure you'll sense it if he tries anything," she kissed his lips softly.

His brows went up in surprise then quickly pulled her close to deepen the kiss. She melted against him with a sigh. His hands rubbed soothing circles in her back before setting her away again.

"Let's go settle this then we can get t' showin' each other how grateful we are that the other one is still in one piece," he grinned and stood up, offering his hand to her to lead her from the room.

Nikolai looked up as Spike stepped through the doorway. He was sitting at the foot of the bed with Marie's feet in his lap. His hand stroked her calve, careful of the cuts and bruises.

"Okay, now can you kindly explain who the hell you are?" Spike pulled Gilda close as he gave the other vamp a hard look.

"I'm Nikolai and I... I was there last night when they brought her in. I pretended to be a patron to get in to see her, sensing she was a slayer. I saw what they were doing to her and I don't know... anyway, I came back tonight to get her out of there." He lifted a shoulder. "Now your turn."

"I'm the reason they took her," Spike sighed.

Gilda hit his shoulder. "Don't you dare say that! They're evil demons! They would have been mad at her anyway for destroying their bordello, just that you happened to be there when she did. You were lucky she didn't stake you along with the others, too."

He smiled down at the pretty watcher girl, giving her a squeeze before looking at Nikolai again.

"Surely you've heard of William the Bloody, mate."

Nikolai raised a brow.

"Well then..." he looked towards Marie. "Honey, if you want, I'll go, but I would love to stay and continue to looking after you. But, I understand if you're not sure about trusting me yet."

"Stay, please," Marie bit her lip. "Saving me, well that was good enough reason to trust you."

Nikolai was practically glowing if vampires could do that. Spike looked down at Gilda and kissed the top of her head, leading her back out of the room.

"Looks like we're goin' t' need a bigger apartment, Watcher," he winked and pulled her into her room then waggled his brows suggestively, "Well maybe not since I don' see us men needin' our own rooms."

_La Fin._


End file.
